MPSD Tax Rate to Decrease

MPSD Tax Rate to Decrease

Posted on 10/26/2018

The property tax rate for the Manitowoc Public School District will decrease by 1.68%, under a 2018-19 budget approved this week by the Board of Education.

The district had anticipated that its school tax rate would increase by 21 cents to $8.25 in the first year of a three-year operating referendum approved last April by voters and then decrease in years two and three.

But the district was able to develop a first-year budget that lowers the school tax rate by 14 cents from $8.04 per $1,000 of equalized home value to $7.90. A combination of increased state aid and rising property values helped drive the reduction.

“We are grateful to the community for supporting our operating referendum last spring, and we are excited to report that we are able to lower our school tax rate,” Superintendent Mark Holzman said.

“This budget allows us to maintain our excellent K-12 programs while adding school safety measures and paying down debt,” he added.

About $400,000 of district fund balance will be used toward debt payment, as part of a district plan to be debt-free by 2024.

State equalization aid increased by 5.67% or about $1.78 million to $33,186,154. District equalized values grew by 4.72%.

State school safety grants awarded to Manitowoc Public Schools will help fund student mental health and wellness programs, installation of new video door monitors and changes to elementary schools’ entrances to block visitors from initially entering areas beyond the school office.

With final budget figures recently released from the State, the MPSD Board of Education on Oct. 23 approved an amended 2018-19 annual budget of $79,561,851 and set the school property tax levy at $19,143,516. This results in a school property tax rate of $7.90 per $1,000 of equalized value, or about $790 for a $100,000 home.

A 92% increase in state private school voucher aid translates to about $1 million of MPSD’s $19 million tax levy and 45 cents of its $7.90 tax rate. Private school voucher aid for 2018 is $1,055,981, up from $476,015 in 2017 and $150,982 in 2016.